Landrieu needs new message versus Cassidy, old one didn't work

Louisiana’s race for the United States Senate continues on to December 6th. Senator Mary Landrieu (D) and Congressman Bill Cassidy (R) will meet in a runoff to decide who will serve in Washington for the next six years. Senator Landrieu led the field with 42% of the vote, Congressman Cassidy was next with 41%, and Colonel Rob Maness (R) had 14%. Now the battle begins anew.

The message voters sent was anti-Obama. The agenda the president has pressed and the blind followers that Senate and House Democrats were resulted in a blistering rejection of Mr. Obama’s policies and its supporters. Democrats blindly followed the president’s lead even when voters in their home states were opposed to those policies. Supporting a national agenda that voters back home do not support is death in politics. And when voters have the chance to go to the polls and speak out they often do so. Tuesday night both here in Louisiana and nationwide, voters screamed at the top of their lungs that they did not like what has been done, and they do not like the direction this country has taken.

Moving forward it appears that Senator Landrieu will continue her attack on Congressman Cassidy with the same message she had during the primary. That message garnered her 42% of the vote. But that message alone will not be enough to carry her to victory. She needs a new message that resonates with other Louisiana voters - those that either stayed home on election day or voted for one of her opponents. It will be fatal to the Landrieu campaign if it continues to press the same issues and attacks from the primary. They did not carry her over the finish line on November 4th and won’t do so on December 6th. Her campaign must find a way to increase the turnout in her base and convince moderate voters that she is the better choice. While Senator Landrieu’s has an uphill fight, do not underestimate her. She is a tough campaigner and will not go down without a fight.

Congressman Cassidy is sitting in the catbird seat. His vote combined with Colonel Maness’s vote puts him well over 50% so Congressman Cassidy’s first task is to bring Maness voters in under his tent and make sure they support him and show up at the polls in December. Next Mr. Cassidy needs to expand his message. We know all too well that he does not support Barack Obama. That message got him to the runoff, now he needs to broaden the message and show voters he knows the job of Senator, he has an agenda, and can get it done.

There is a lesson to be learned from this election. It is a lesson for democrats and republicans. Blindly following a president and voting for anything he wants can be dangerous. It is especially dangerous when the legislation is as radical as ObamaCare. It took over the entire health system of the United States when 85% of Americans had insurance and were basically happy with their plans. Voters were unhappy with ObamaCare and expressed their anger at the polls in 2010 and again on Tuesday. Had this legislation been baby steps, the opposition to it may not have been so strong. Legislation that is too far left or too far right will frighten voters, and members of congress who support radical extremes are committing political suicide.

Compounding the problem that democrats had on Tuesday is the perceived ineptitude of the Obama Administration. Despite the preaching of good economic news from the president and many experts, Americans do not have confidence in the economy. The stock market goes up and then takes a big plunge giving back all of its recent gains. Then miraculously it surges again. It is like an economic roller coaster.

The ineptness continues. Terrorists are flourishing. Isis is slaughtering innocent people. Illegal immigration continues while the President presses for outright amnesty something the American people do not support. The bungling of the Ebola crisis and the refusal of President Obama to implement a quarantine of travelers from West Africa has made Americans very mad. In appealing to his far left base President Obama has put America at risk, and voters don’t like that.

In short Washington, the President, and Congress are in disarray and voter dissatisfaction is very high. On Tuesday voters took their anger and frustration out on President Obama and his Senate and House Democrats. Voters have sent a loud and clear message; and, if Republicans are not careful, voters may take that same anger and frustration out on them in 2016 when much more than Congress is at stake.

Watch Bernie Pinsonat discuss current poll numbers, the US Senate race, Congressional races, upcoming Louisiana legislative session, Governor John Bel Edwards' popularity, favorables of other elected officials, future political races such as Treasurer, Attorney General and more topics.